1965 Gretsch Safari portable amp

EDIT: Make an offer, don’t be shy. I have my eye on something else and would like to move this Gretsch sooner rather than later.

Here’s a fun and rare Gretsch Safari portable guitar amp. The construction looks just like the Valco amps I own, though I haven’t been able to verify if they made the Safari or not. Either way it sounds and works great. See the 12oz can in first picture for an idea of size.

First off, this is a solid state amp. My friends who’ve heard this thing never believe me - the breakup on it is a diminutive little roar. I call it my Little Plexi. Cleans are warm and mellow. The two 8” Jensen speakers sound bigger than they are. The germanium transistors in here include 2N2614 (used in the Maestro Fuzz Tone FZ-1A), RCA 2N404 (found in the original Harmonic Percolator pedal), 2N2629, and 2N2631. All of those are general purpose Ge units that are very similar to AC128s, 2N270s, and NTK275s as found in loads of 60s Fuzz pedals. The breakup isn’t necessarily fuzzy unless using really hot pickups, but the tone is there for days. There are three additional transistors inside of heat sinks that I have not pulled. I don’t want to break the thin wire leads.

This amp has a few tricks up it’s sleeve. First, it can operate off either AC wall power OR battery power. I disconnected the batteries as they appear either original or very old and I didn’t want them leaking or damaging the amp. This type of 6V battery is still available brand new, so you could get this amp up and running for your next busking gig! Second, this amp has Magic Echo. It’s not an echo or delay at all, but a speed-adjustable choppy tremolo a la the Vox Repeat Percussion. This can be turned on and off using a basic open/closed footswitch with a TS 1/4” plug (NOT TRS!). Or use a 1/4” dummy plug with the tip and ring contacts soldered together for “always on” Magic Echo.

The amp appears all original to me except the 2-prong lamp cord for AC power, which somebody installed at some point. I’ll leave any refurbishing to the buyer - it sounds great as-is aside from a scratchy volume knob and I have played it regularly as it sits. Luckily solid state amps operate on much lower voltages than tube amps, so to me the 2-prong cord isn’t as big of a safety concern as it would be on a tube amp. It’s probably best to switch to a 3-prong cord down the road though, and the electrolytic caps may need attention at some point.

Other info …. Speakers and pots are date-coded late 1965. Amp has some wear and tear. Scuffs in wrap, oxidization on metal parts, scratchy volume knob, grill cloth is slightly lifting, suitcase cover is missing a catch (but still holds on perfectly). See the pictures and ask me for more if you need them. It has tons of character and looks like you just dragged it out of your grandpa’s attic. Definitely a cool conversation piece. I do have the screws for the back panel, however they were removed to get photos. Back panel will be reattached for shipping of course. Being a vintage piece, amp is sold as-is. Message me for shipping rates outside of the US or to AK/HI.

(YouTube isn’t letting me upload demo videos this morning for whatever reason. Message me and I can send them to you directly.)